Foreign national arrested in Benoni for producing fake IDs, licences and work permits

Police seize fake documents at Benoni internet café

A 38-year-old foreign national was arrested by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department after officers discovered an internet café on Bedford Avenue in Benoni where fraudulent South African identity documents were allegedly being produced.

How the operation was uncovered

The arrest followed information received from the Ekurhuleni Human Settlements Department about residents of the Chief Albert Luthuli informal settlement in Cloverdene who were found with fraudulent electricity receipts. Officers interviewed one of the individuals found with a fraudulent receipt, and that person led officers to the alleged source of the documents.

What police say was found

Officers went to an internet café on Bedford Avenue where they located the suspect. According to EMPD spokesperson Kelebogile Thepa, the suspect allegedly admitted that the fraudulent electricity receipts had been printed at his shop and that he had been selling the receipts for R250 each.

Various fraudulent documents and equipment were confiscated and booked as evidence, including smart card identity documents, appointment letters, work permits, traffic registers and foreign driver’s licences.

Charges and court appearance

The suspect was arrested and detained at the Benoni Police Station on charges of fraud and contravention of the Immigration Act. He is expected to appear in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court soon.

Related matter

The same report notes that a senior immigration officer, 50-year-old Veli Malambe, was granted bail in connection with an alleged demand for a bribe from a foreign national in Mpumalanga. The report states Malambe appeared in the White River Magistrate’s Court on 11 May 2026 after his arrest by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation Unit.